When the original NES Remix was released instantaneously during a Nintendo Direct presentation late last year it proved to be a breath of fresh air accompanied with more than a whiff of familiarity in the form of glorious nostalgia, which seeped through every layer of the experience while providing many new challenges for veteran plus newcomers alike.

The surprise hit developed by indieszero managed to breathe new life in to many old titles with its simple Wario Ware-ish approach that placed the emphasis on bringing you fast and fun experiences for a relatively small sum. Players had the option to easily purchase the full games that the mini-sections were taken from where applicable, should you want to experience them in their original form. On the face of it NES Remix was seemingly another new approach to reaching their consumer in a less standard way for Nintendo, but it certainly worked.

So here we are less than six months on with NES Remix 2, the sequel that seems to offer more of the same addictive action but less of the 'if you liked this mini-game, why not buy the original?', along with a few finer adjustments thathave been mostly made for the better. Considering there wasn't much wrong with the original, this is very welcome; indeed for me there was plenty to love as evidenced by my review of the first game, but what exactly has changed? Read on to find out.

Right from the near-identical title screen - bar the change of sprites plus a 'II' on the end - you get the impression that NES Remix 2 is very much what you'd expect it to be - more of the same but with more options and a few refinements. This is clear from the first moment where the game informs you that all controllers, from GamePad to Wii Remote Plus, are available to you. Having picked up a SNES Classic Controller for the previous game, this is certainly pleasing.

You start by playing one Remix stage, a nice simple romp through a Mario level which then opens up stages from Super Mario Bros 2/3, Dr. Mario, Kirby's Adventure and Wario's Woods. All of these offer a reasonably diverse selection of challenges to tackle in any order that you desire. Being a little bit 'particular' in my play style I decided to work my way through them one game at a time, even going as far as to get three gold outlined stars plus the rainbow outlines before moving on. NES Remix 2 uses the same system as before, whereby you get a better score depending on how many lives were used plus a par time to beat for each challenge.

Once again you aren't really required to get the rainbow outlines, it's more just for futile 'bragging rights' or simple self-satisfaction. For me it was just the latter, but there's nothing wrong with being proud of doing well on a particular challenge if it makes you happy. Most people will just want to go for the three stars though as these all add up to unlock further challenges.

Fifty stars unlocks Punch Out!!, which I really enjoyed a lot, but keep playing as you'll soon be unlocking the likes of Kid Icarus, which is brilliant as, like Metroid, it essentially takes you through the best parts of the game. Players will also experience the delight of Zelda II and Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels, which is always a masochistic joy to play. The 'bits' are back again, acting as a currency towards the myriad of new stamps that you will invariably unlock as you play. You can use these to brighten up your Miiverse posts within the community - which wasn't live at the time of review meaning I unfortunately missed out on certain aspects. You do get ten stamps unlocked from the start for owning the first NEX Remix, but as for the rest you'll need to earn them, but it's not too bad as you get extra bits for things such as a new stage clear, or a perfect run, when you obtain rainbow stars or just simply for setting a new record.

Getting those rainbow stars certainly seems to be more satisfying this time around, but I must admit getting to Wario's Woods was the point at which I gave up on getting all the rainbow stars as the controls have always been too fiddly for my liking. The Dr. Mario challenges make you go against your nature as a gamer, being that the timer makes it harder to perform under pressure, while battling against Super Mario Bros 2's dodgy physics makes for some interesting challenges.

Thankfully there aren't an abundance of instructional videos for all titles like there used to be but games like Kirby and Wario's Woods require you to watch the original tutorial on the first stage. Kirby is fun because you get to use all his different abilities, plus it just goes to show just how far the series has come since the lovable pink spud's first title.

It's the Remix titles where the game really shines though. While it is fun to play through the more straightforward but challenging original title challenges, they only serve to partly prepare you for the madness that unfolds when things are changed about.

You get challenges ranging from clearing a periodically invisible sky-ship stage from Super Mario Bros. 3, to trying to control a Kirby who can't stop except for jumping. Then you get to the proper universe crossovers where you find yourself trying to grab coins in Mario Bros. as Samus or playing Super Mario Bros. 3 and having to defeat it as Peach in order to save... Peach, which is quite the paradox. Another challenge sees you trying to defeat a boss in Kirby while being chased by Boo's each time you turn around. Those are just but a few examples of course, as I wouldn't want to ruin all of the surprises.

Suffice to say there seems to be enough content overall to justify this sequel even if the challenge count is less than the first game, though it really does not seem like it at the time. Either way it won't matter to you when you're trying to defeat moving or colour changing viruses in Dr. Mario as it's just fun to play.

Even if it's smaller than the original in one sense, the extra modes more than make up for it as you do get Super Luigi Bros., which is essentially Super Mario Bros. as Luigi with floaty physics but played in reverse from right to left, which feels all kinds of wrong but I suppose that's all part of the challenge. To me it felt so unnatural that I didn't play much past the first few stages... still it's good to have an extra portion of classic-yet-warped Nintendo goodness to enjoy at some point.

Perhaps where the majority of 'extra' content lies is in the Championship Mode, which only becomes available to you if you own the first game but it's well worth buying the first for this mode alone as it's actually like taking part in a real Nintendo championship event, which used to take place decades ago.

The selection of games isn't exactly the same though. You do get to collect fifty coins in Mario followed by some more in Super Mario Bros. 3 and finished off with getting a high score in Dr. Mario. Your results are then tallied up, converted into a score that you then have the option to upload to Miiverse, which seems like a great way for Nintendo to possibly hold genuine competitions in the future brining back the spirit of good-natured - hopefully - challenges that the community can get involved in.

Visually you get an identical level of presentation to that which was featured in the previous Remix title. Every NES game is presented in its original aspect ratio, complete with the 8-bit themed borders - which change each time you retry - for each game, complete with all the challenge information.

The remix stages look lovely as ever, with their newly textured backgrounds really creating some interesting results as the game graphics really 'pop' out at you, which is quite impressive considering this is on the Wii U and not on the 3DS - for reasons which were detailed recently, although I'm hoping for a GameBoy remix. Overall there are nice touches used throughout that will make you smile.

On the audio side everything is as accomplished as it was during the 8-bit era and this is a fantastic chance to hear all of your favourite music from a gone-yet-not-forgotten era where some genuinely stunning pieces of music were created, still forming the basis of what we hear today in many modern-day interations of these classic titles.Tthis is where a lot of the magic originally happened, so consider this a chance to revel in its simplistic beauty as you won't hear many musical scores quite like this anywhere else.

Providing you are a gamer who fondly remembers many of these brilliant NES titles from back in the day, I see no reason why you won't enjoy nearly every moment in NES Remix 2 - apart from that 'one' game you don't get on with - just as you likely enjoyed the first batch of titles from the original offering.

For those of you who are relatively new to gaming, you could look on the Remix games as a way of getting 'up to speed' on the origins of the gaming legends of today while perhaps experiencing something new that you didn't realise you liked until now. It might not be the perfect game for everyone, but for me personally I would say that this represents natural progression for what I hope might become a staple series for Nintendo to developed thanks to indeieszero, with no real impact on development times of 'bigger' titles, but at the same time giving us Wii U owners something to play in the meantime.

They also serve as a timely reminder of just how great these games were and still are, and that we're lucky to live in an age where these great games are still continuing to be developed no matter how long they take because they are clearly worth the wait. In the meantime, I would welcome a SNES or even N64 Remix with open arms with a well-worn controller in one hand and a sore thumb on the other. It's good to be a gamer so please celebrate it.